In the afternoon, an official press conference was held at Kashima Stadium, attended by Head Coach Ishii and player Nagaki.
Head Coach Masatada Ishii:
"When we played Muangthong away, I felt they were an attacking team. If they score first, they gain momentum, so the first goal will be key. Muangthong has highly skilled attacking players. Overall, I feel they like to attack. We had a meeting while watching footage from our previous match, and I feel that our coordination and physical condition are definitely better now. I think we can get a good result."
Player Ryota Nagaki:
"We lost to Muangthong away, and I personally played in that game and felt frustrated. This is a home game, and we want to win and advance as group leaders. I don't know how Muangthong will play, but I hope we can assess the situation as the game progresses and make decisions ourselves. We can't get three points or finish first without scoring, so we need to think carefully about how to score."
Muangthong United's attendees were Head Coach Totchtawan Sripan and Chanathip Songkrasin, who is set to transfer to Sapporo.
Head Coach Totchtawan Sripan:
"Regarding the team's condition, three players are unavailable. We also have one foreign player who hasn't arrived, so we only have 15 players, but we want to do our best to win. When we played at home, Antlers played with high skill. Although we won, our level was inferior. It will be a difficult away game, but if we can show our skill, we might be able to cause a surprise. I think if we play with confidence, we can have a good match."
Player Chanathip Songkrasin:
"For me, Antlers is a top team. It will be a difficult match, but I want to do my best to win. I'm tired from playing consecutive games, but I want to enjoy it. I want to play against Kawasaki Frontale in the Round of 16."
After the press conference, Muangthong United held an official practice at Kashima Stadium. Only the first 15 minutes were open to the media.
